"I can only concentrate on what I can control"
The fans.
Different types of fans.
Positive fans.
Negative fans.
Punters.
The punters who go.
The punters who don't go.
Punters who didn't want to go to Wembley because they were too negative.
People leaving five minutes early.
Empty red seats.
People not applauding enough.
Social media.
People on social media.
People having opinions on social media.
PlayStation managers.
People in pubs.
People in pubs having opinions.
People in pubs having opinions about football.
People who haven't managed hundreds of games having opinions about football.
Someone telling him "the guys behind me know more than you."
The "clamour".
Reacting to the clamour.
Not reacting to the clamour.
Talking at length about how he won't react to the clamour.
The specific clamour to play Donovan.
Having previously called Donovan "outstanding".
Ruben Selles.
Ruben Selles's five games.
The consequences of Ruben Selles's five games.
The lingering psychological consequences of Ruben Selles's five games.
Anything that happened before Chris Wilder arrived.
Fitness.
Not enough fitness.
Getting fitter.
Culture.
Not enough culture.
Changing the culture.
Standards.
Proper standards.
Setting standards.
Getting back to standards.
The standards slipping.
Togetherness.
Spirit.
Team spirit.
Lads.
Good lads.
Pals.
His pals.
Lads he's knocked about with for 20-25 years.
Having a beer with his pals on Sunday afternoon.
Going out on Friday night for an hour with his pals.
Effort.
Application.
Desire.
Commitment.
Enthusiasm.
Running around.
Competing.
Being competitive.
The Championship.
How difficult the Championship is.
How relentless the Championship is.
How good the opposition are.
How much the opposition will want a result.
How good the opposition manager is.
Having enormous respect for the opposition manager.
Not actually knowing the opposition manager.
Moments.
Finding your moments.
Taking your moments.
Not taking your moments.
Them taking their moments.
Fine margins.
Stats.
The stats.
Positive stats.
The stats moving in the right direction.
More box action.
More positivity at the top of the pitch.
More touches in the opposition box.
"And stuff like that."
The journey.
How far we've come.
Not thinking about how far we've come.
Not resting on your laurels thinking about the past.
The journey again.
Being Sheffield United.
Knowing Sheffield United.
Knowing what Sheffield United supporters expect.
Being a Blade.
Being a Sheffielder.
Being a Sheffielder through and through.
Wembley.
Getting to Wembley.
Losing at Wembley.
Playing well at Wembley.
Not getting the result at Wembley.
The 97th minute at Wembley.
Being down to ten men at Wembley.
The negative punters who chose not to go to Wembley.
The negative punters subsequently having their negativity vindicated at Wembley.
Getting sacked after Wembley.
Wembley again.
Brighton.
Brighton for some fucking reason.
Brighton's journey.
Brighton's spending.
Brighton's ground.
The Withdean.
His time at Brighton.
Brighton apparently entering his consciousness whenever required.
Past achievements.
Promotions.
League titles.
His record.
His experience.
His CV.
92 points
92 points
92 points
Things that happened before he arrived.
Things that happened after he left.
Things that happened while he was there but weren't really his fault.
Things he can control.
Things he can't control.
Things he isn't going to waste his time thinking about.
Things he then spends quite a lot of time talking about.
Referees.
Refereeing standards.
50/50 decisions.
Every 50/50 decision going against us.
Every tight decision going against us.
The possibility that referees might give decisions against Sheffield United because they expect Sheffield United to be relegated
Assistant referees.
Assistant referees eating.
Assistant referees eating sandwiches.
Assistant referees eating sandwiches while Chris Wilder is talking.
The fundamental disrespect involved in eating a sandwich while Chris Wilder is talking.
Going to see the referee after losing 3-2 to Crystal Palace.
Discovering an assistant referee was eating a sandwich.
Describing this as a"complete lack of respect."
Whether he enjoyed his sandwich while he was talking to a Premier League manager."
Being a Premier League manager.
The correct etiquette for consuming bread-based products in the presence of a Premier League manager.
Being fined £11,500 because an assistant referee ate a sandwich in the presence of a Premier League manager.
The fact that the full story somehow got even better when it emerged that the assistant had apparently reached across Chris Wilder to fetch the sandwich while he was complaining to the referee.
Respect.
Lack of respect.
Sandwich-based lack of respect.
Flat balls.
Old-school flat balls.
Cold tea.
Wet floors.
Specifically reassuring opposition players that, while he doesn't want Bramall Lane to be comfortable, there "won't be any old-school flat balls, cold tea or wet floors."
Holiday camps.
Not wanting it to be a holiday camp.
Also not wanting it to be a concentration camp.
Getting the balance somewhere between holiday camp and concentration camp.
Not being the players' pal.
Pals.
His pals.
Having a beer with his pals.
Having a beer with his pals on Sunday afternoon.
Going out Friday night for an hour with the lads he's knocked about with for 20-25 years.
[brainyquote.com]
Smart suits.
People who look smart in suits.
People who look smart in suits but "haven't really got a lot underneath."
Frauds.
Football being an unforgiving business in which, if you're "a bit of a fraud", you'll be found out.
Reinventing the wheel.
Not reinventing the wheel.
Halifax.
Turning up at Halifax.
Finding there were no balls.
No training ground.
No players.
Marcelo Bielsa.
Spygate.
Seeing a drone outside his office before his first Sheffield derby.
Assuming Sheffield Wednesday were spying on training.
Opening the window.
Shouting:"This is the effing team, if you want the effing team."
Finding out the drone was actually being used by someone doing measurements.
Retrospectively describing himself as "the idiot manager, paranoid as hell."
Stanley Park.
Taking the players to train in Stanley Park before playing Liverpool.
The amount of dog shit in Stanley Park.
Getting promoted.
Open-top buses.
Nearly dropping trophies off open-top buses.
"What sort of interview is this?"
"Have you seen the league table?"
"I've got to have summat mate, haven't I?"
People in pubs having opinions about football.
People in pubs who haven't managed football clubs having opinions about football.
How ridiculous it is that people in pubs think they know anything about football.
Chris Wilder having a beer in the pub with his pals.
Chris Wilder talking about football in the pub with lads he's knocked about with for 20-25 years.
Anyone, anywhere, at any time, expressing an opinion about Sheffield United that has not first been cleared with Chris Wilder.
Unless, obviously, they're one of his pals.
